Delaware Officials Eye Pedestrian Safety Campaign

State highway safety officials are launching a new campaign aimed at reducing the number of pedestrian deaths in Delaware.

Officials are holding a series of pedestrian safety checks in areas with high numbers of pedestrian accidents, starting Friday in Dewey Beach. Other checks will be held Saturday in Lewes and in Rodney Square in Wilmington in early August and September.

Delaware’s Office of Highway Safety says 13 pedestrians have died in Delaware so far this year, more than during the same period last year.

Officials say the number is particularly alarming because the risk of pedestrian deaths and injuries increases in the fall.

Officials urge people to cross the street only at crosswalks or intersections with signals or traffic signs, and to use sidewalks when available and walk facing traffic.